09-Oct-2021, 15:02
Measurements are important but not always a good indicator how things sound and whether or not there is an improvement with better measurements. I have had one Mutec MC+3 UBS when a friend, who had two brought them over. At the time, all were running on their own SMPS and I neither had the REF 10 yet. We tried one/two/three in stacked. The first fed from SOtM SMS-200 ultra. Then connected to each other by AES/EBU, the clocks were not chained. The second unit gave a very clearly audible advantage, I'd say another 50-70%. The third one another 20-30%. This was repeatable and also worked the other way round as we started removing the units one by one. I ended up buying a second one. We both agreed that another 1000 euros (+ a few hundred on a good AES/EBU cable) would be too much on a third unit.
When I asked Christian Peters, the head engineer at Mutec, in Munich 3 years ago, why this is happening, he said, he had no idea, but about a dozen people came to him at the show asking the same who have two or more units. I have a degree in physics and would like to understand why something is happening but sometimes we can't measure what we hear and we don't/can't hear what we measure.
Eventually, I "gutted" both unit, removed the SMPS and they run on LPS. As I did one by one, I had a chance to compare as I had one before and one after the operation. It does improve a sound on a highly resolving system as the Devialet and a pair of decent speakers. Not by a lot, but audible. At this level, we have to be grateful for every small improvement, especially considering that you can by a decent LSP for a few hundred euros that can supply two or even more units.
I would like to hear some other D/D converters in comparison, not just seeing the test results. To be honest, value for money, I think the Mutec MC3+USB is standing out in my system still. I wish it could reclock DSD. Also, I'm wondering what MUTEC is upto (if anything) as the only product they came out with in the last 5 years or so is an upgraded clock. Even 4 years ago in Munich they said they were planning to come out with a DAC by the end of the year - and that was in May, so they must have started designing it. Still nothing.
When I asked Christian Peters, the head engineer at Mutec, in Munich 3 years ago, why this is happening, he said, he had no idea, but about a dozen people came to him at the show asking the same who have two or more units. I have a degree in physics and would like to understand why something is happening but sometimes we can't measure what we hear and we don't/can't hear what we measure.
Eventually, I "gutted" both unit, removed the SMPS and they run on LPS. As I did one by one, I had a chance to compare as I had one before and one after the operation. It does improve a sound on a highly resolving system as the Devialet and a pair of decent speakers. Not by a lot, but audible. At this level, we have to be grateful for every small improvement, especially considering that you can by a decent LSP for a few hundred euros that can supply two or even more units.
I would like to hear some other D/D converters in comparison, not just seeing the test results. To be honest, value for money, I think the Mutec MC3+USB is standing out in my system still. I wish it could reclock DSD. Also, I'm wondering what MUTEC is upto (if anything) as the only product they came out with in the last 5 years or so is an upgraded clock. Even 4 years ago in Munich they said they were planning to come out with a DAC by the end of the year - and that was in May, so they must have started designing it. Still nothing.
Win10/HQPlayer / Roon - Uptone Audio Etherregen switch / SOtM-SMS-200 ultra with clock input - Mutec REF 10 clock for the switch and the streamer - Denafrips GAIA DCC - Devialet D800 - YG Acoustics Carmel - Dual Elac SUB-2090
power supplies: Uptone JS-2, SOtM SPS-500